The Biggest Mindful Productivity Shift That Changed How I Run My Business

(Note: This is a formatted and slightly edited, AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through. Please excuse any spelling, grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Hello, hello. Welcome, welcome, welcome to this topic on the biggest productivity shift that has made a real big difference for me. I’m so excited to dive in and share this with you and to even just be back recording content because it feels like it has been a while since I’ve recorded content and talked about just productivity in general.

And so what I have here, you’re gonna see me looking away to look at my notes because otherwise I’m going to ramble and I don’t want to do that. I want to be mindful of your time ’cause hello. We’re talking about saving you time here and helping you be more productive. And I promise you that even just listening to this or watching this,  however you’re tuning in is going to be a productive part of your day because you’re learning and learning in itself is still a productivity act, especially when implementation follows.

So we are going to talk about what productivity is versus, or what we think it is versus what it actually is. Okay? So productivity is not about doing it more.

It’s not about working harder, or the amount of output that you produce in a day. Like, that is the productivity definition of, you know, like a factory like that is… For a factory, like, how many things can we get out to, like, we’re not that. We’re human beings, okay? So the truth is that productivity is about making decisions, making better decisions about how we want to spend our time and energy.

So today we’re gonna talk about how this one shift really changed the way that I run my business. So let’s get into it.

All right, so here’s the biggest mindful productivity shift. It’s not choosing a new app, a new planner, even a new tool or getting a new template or even time blocking it is about you getting to choose, okay? You get to choose how you spend your time.

You get to choose what you get to do, and if you feel good about it. Then you feel good about it. What feels productive to you may be different than what someone else feels is productive. It’s all perspective, okay? So don’t worry about what someone else says is productive or is not like you know yourself and you know your capacity, your energy, the time that you have, the other things that you’re doing.

So you get to choose what productivity means for you and what that’s going to look like for you. So for me it means slowing down and tuning in, not just to logic, but to my intuition. So I have really been just challenging myself because it’s not easy, but I’ve really been challenging myself, especially this year to be like, okay, pause, pause, pause, pause.

There’s too many open tabs in my browser and in my head. I have too many projects going on at once. I’m trying to do this and I’m trying to do that, and for a long time, it’s like, I know I can do it because I have really good systems. I was like, I can work on one project and another project and still be able to like catch up, but that’s still slowing me down because there’s so much open noise and that makes it harder for me to listen to my gut.

Okay, so here’s some questions that I ask myself.  What actually matters today? So I look at my calendar and I’m like, okay, these are all of the tasks that I want to get done. What is the most important task that I need to get done? What do I really, really, really need to get done today or really, really want to get done today?

And then that becomes my priority task. Okay? What is the one thing I can do that’ll make the rest easier? So another thing that I look at is, is there something on my list that is like the… I don’t know what the right term for it is, but it’s a task that… That is… What is it? Ugh! I can’t… I can’t even think about it right now.

I don’t even know if I’m gonna edit this out, but it’s a task that can, is holding back another task. Okay? So if I can’t do, I can’t start this project until this one is done. So I have to look at, see, okay, I can’t, for example, if I’m doing a freebie. I’m creating a new freebie, then I can’t create  the email sequence without knowing what the freebie is going to be, right?

So I have to figure that out first. I’m like, what? Which of these tasks need to be done in which order? And then the biggest question that I literally have a sticky note on my desk for, it says, “Am I operating from a place of fear or doubt? Or a place of faith and trust in my intuition?” So again, intuition has been huge and I’ve been really working on my mindset.

This year I’ve really been working on my fear and the doubt and understanding that that is not good. That is not how we’re meant to feel. And if we feel that way, it’s probably not the best decision. So I slow down to be like, okay, am I running this flash sale because I’m like scrambling to… I need cash, or am I doing it because it feels logical?

It feels like no, like no matter what happens with the sale, it’s not going to break me. So, that’s a really big example. That also ties to like money mindset. So we’re not gonna get into that there. But that was, that’s a real example that I’ve had to navigate this year is like, and which is something that I used to do.

It’s like, oh no, I need a couple extra a hundred bucks to cover some expenses. Let me run a flash sale. And then I’m scrambling to run the flash out. And then sometimes it doesn’t perform as good as I hoped and I’m like stressing out. That was coming from a place of fear though, because sometimes the best thing you can do is actually slow down.

Maybe take a day or two and something better will come up for you. So those are some questions that I ask myself every single day. And I have set some very clear boundaries that are essentially a filter for decision of making. So for example, I have two very specific boundaries that I have set up in place in my business to make sure that I stay intentional and grounded on honoring my own capacity.

So one thing that I do is I do not schedule to work on evenings and weekends.

 You can set your own schedules and you want to create a business that supports your life. You started a business so that way it can support you. You don’t wanna cater your life to support your business.

 Family is my priority and I left my corporate job specifically because it was stressing me out specifically because it was taking time away from me being with my son. It was just him at the time.

Now I have my son who is now a preteen and needs me so much, even though he doesn’t want me, but he needs me. And then I have my daughter. So, it is just, it’s just one of those non-negotiables for me. And so this, it doesn’t mean I don’t work though. Okay. So this matters, this boundary matters because it helps my mental clarity and it helps me avoid burnout.

I don’t schedule things when I’m supposed to be with my family and, and allows them to also see these boundaries that I have for myself as well. And it doesn’t mean that I can’t choose to work on these days if I want to. I just don’t schedule them so that way they’re not scheduled. The other reason why I don’t do that is because it literally causes me so much stress if I have to, if I have to be at my desk while dinner is happening or while my kids are home,  because there’s just so much going on and there’s higher chances that I may not make it.

Because, you know, life be life-ing and life happens, so doesn’t mean I can’t  show up if I want to, but I don’t force myself to, I don’t plan for it. So that’s one big boundary that I have set for myself in my business. The second thing is that if I’m tired, I don’t work. I take a nap. So I really listen to my energy levels instead of trying to push through.

So we’re gonna talk about seasons in just a minute, but the current season that I’m in allows me to have dedicated sessions of work while my kids are away at school. That wasn’t even the case at the beginning of this year. Okay? So actually let’s dive into seasons right now. There’s different seasons that changed constantly.

So earlier  this year is just this year. Earlier this year, I had a full house. My sister and my niece, my newborn niece at the time, and her partner were all living here.  It was a full house. Now they’ve, since then, they’ve moved out and now I’m in a new season where my kids are off to school. This current season also has some other things going on that are not gonna be true for  next season, after like January that are still making things a little bit more complicated

but the point is seasons change. But in this exact season, I have dedicated space to work for several hours in a day, and when my kids go to school, if I feel tired, I allow myself to not feel guilty and go back to bed and take a nap, even if the house is quiet. So naturally we have this urgency and it’s usually because of your upbringings, but you have this like.

I have to work, I have to work, I have to do something. Like, I need to take advantage of the fact that I have these hours to myself. I need to take advantage of that. And you know, so you get to work and you’re like trying to work and you’re like, you brain, you’re rereading the same thing over and over and over again because you’re just, your brain just isn’t there.

And yeah, I had to learn that the hard way. So now another boundary that I have set for myself is.  I listen to my energy and if I feel tired, I know I’m not gonna be productive. Even if I’m at my desk for an hour, I probably would’ve gotten like 15 minutes of work done versus if I would’ve taken a 30 minute nap and then I came back for that same hour, would’ve been an actual hour, right?

Or the 30 minutes of work. So,  this really helps me get more done with a lot better quality. It seems counterintuitive because I’m reducing the amount of time that I’m working, but the quality and the output is actually better, which means it’s more productive.

So that’s gonna be one of the biggest shifts, right? Is setting those boundaries in place and just really knowing what my energy and capacity feels like. And the shift really isn’t even about you copying what my boundaries are. It’s about you finding the boundaries that work in your season that you’re in, and then accepting that they’re probably gonna change, they’re probably going to change, and that’s okay.

That’s okay. Different things work at different times, and so right now, in this moment, I really just encourage you to find the thing that works for you right now. Don’t worry about whether it’s gonna work long term. Once you start doing the thing or set the boundary or doing the habit or whatever it is, you’ll start to know if it’s right or wrong.

Productivity isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing. The right things at the right time for you, for you specifically. It’s going to be different for everybody. So the one question that you can start by asking yourself is, what boundary do I need right now to make better choices? It’s okay to start small.

One shift, one choice, one boundary at a time. Is all that you need. Okay? So productivity equals better choices, not more tasks and boundaries help you make those choices with less guilt and more clarity.

All right, friend. I’m so, so excited. Definitely, there’s a brand new GPT that I just created. It’s called the Weekly Reset, GPT, which is going to help you figure out how your weeks have been going. So if you were that person that’s been struggling with weekly planning and you’re like, ah, you know, last week was such a mess, I don’t even know what to do this week, or I feel so behind.

This Weekly Reset GPT is going to help you, it’s going to guide you through just a super short reflection process and then help you give you, or it’s going to give you an implementation plan that you can set up for the week ahead to make it better than the last week. So definitely go grab that. The link is down below or in the show notes, depending on where you’re listening, along with another resource that’s going to help you set your boundaries in place for your life and business.

All right, friend, send me a DM on Instagram @cheerstoproductivity with what boundary you’re going to be implementing this week. I cannot wait for you to come back and listen to the next episode that I have coming up so be sure to hit subscribe either at the button down below, or follow the podcast wherever you’re listening. I’m so excited and I’ll talk to you soon.